Chapter 413: Returning to his peace

The moment the resting zone was taken down, Jorma was startled to see Luke emerge as though he had been standing there all along.

No, perhaps that might be actually accurate. Jorma had sensed that the young man was somewhere nearby, but he had been unable to pinpoint his exact location.

Now, however, Luke stood before him, and there was something distinctly different about him.

When he had vanished earlier, he had taken on an even more savage form, one that had overwhelmed Astfall in a surprisingly short exchange. And that roar at the end of the battle...

Jorma knew he would remember that sound for the rest of his life.

Astfall was still sitting where he had been left, but his vision had already caught sight of Luke.

Meanwhile, Luke was busy speaking to the system.

’So, how does this contracting thing work?’

[There are three types of contracts available to the host, and all three can be purchased from the system.]

[You must fulfill certain criteria to establish a bond, and you have satisfied the conditions required to form a Soul Bond with the subject, Astfall.]

[Soul Bond]

[Rank: S]

[Price: 300 GP]

"...."

Luke stared at the price for a moment.

There wasn’t even a discount.

That alone was enough to sour his mood.

The system was truly an asshole. When humanity had been on the verge of destruction, it had generously offered him a fifty percent discount. Now that the immediate danger had been dealt with, the bastard had returned to its usual greed.

Shaking his head, Luke asked, ’So? How do I use it? Do I need his permission as well?’

[No, host. That is the special property of Soul Bond. The contract requires the host to break the opponent’s will to resist the host.]

[You have accomplished that condition. You can now enforce the contract upon him.]

Luke nodded.

With a reluctant sigh, he purchased the Soul Contract.

[Only the host can see the contract.]

The system’s words had barely faded when a golden scroll materialized in Luke’s hand. Its surface shimmered faintly beneath the light, covered in intricate markings that seemed to shift whenever he looked at them directly.

Luke exhaled and finally walked over to the two of them.

"Where have you been?" Jorma asked. "You vanished all of a sudden."

"That’s not the important question. Has Astaroth kept his promise?" Luke asked, already knowing the answer.

As expected, Jorma nodded.

"Yes. The Dragon King has declared that they will not wage war against humanity this time."

Luke grinned and nodded.

"Well, as you can see, nothing is impossible as long as you don’t consider it impossible."

And, of course, having an absurd amount of plot armor helped too.

Jorma wisely chose not to comment on that part.

Luke shifted his attention toward Astfall.

His expression softened slightly.

"I need to apologize to you first. That skill I used on you... I never knew what it would show you. I only intended to weaken you, but instead, I ended up digging into your most painful memories."

Astfall lowered his gaze.

For a few moments, he remained silent, his fingers resting loosely against his knees.

Then he asked quietly, "Why did you spare me?"

He raised his eyes toward Luke.

"You could have ended my life back then."

Astfall had never stood so close to death before. He had felt the helplessness of defeat, had sensed the certainty of his own end, and yet, when he looked at Luke in those final moments, he had never seen the intention to kill in his eyes.

Luke had simply looked...

Excited.

Luke shrugged. "I never felt any hatred toward you. In fact, I understood your pain, and I think your reaction was justified. If someone hurt my family, I would probably wage war against them too."

Astfall lowered his head, his expression growing solemn.

"I... was defeated. My life is no longer mine. So go ahead and do whatever you wish with me."

Luke stared at him for a moment before silently summoning the golden scroll.

[Host, just tear it.]

Luke’s brows rose slightly.

Jorma’s eyes widened as he caught what looked like a faint flash in Luke’s hand. It was so subtle that he couldn’t even be certain he had seen anything at all. For a moment, he wondered if exhaustion was simply playing tricks on his eyes.

Luke, however, showed no hesitation.

He gripped both ends of the scroll and tore it cleanly in half.

The instant the parchment split, something strange happened.

One half dissolved into a stream of golden light and plunged into Luke’s chest.

The other half shot toward Astfall and disappeared into his body.

Astfall suddenly flinched.

His eyes widened as an unfamiliar sensation coursed through him, spreading from his chest to every corner of his body before settling somewhere deep within his soul.

He slowly raised his head and stared at Luke, his expression filled with disbelief.

Luke didn’t speak a word. He simply stood there, quietly feeling the connection take shape between himself and the dragon.

A moment later, a mark appeared on Astfall’s upper left arm.

It looked ancient, formed from intricate patterns that none of them could understand. Astfall, however, immediately knew what had happened.

His reaction was difficult to read. He stared at the mark, then at Luke, as though trying to make sense of the situation. There was surprise, disbelief, and perhaps even a trace of resignation mixed together. For once, the usually proud dragon seemed to have no idea what he was supposed to say.

Luke exhaled softly and decided to give Astfall some time to come to terms with what had just happened.

He turned toward Jorma.

"I’ll be leaving now. I think you can handle things from here."

Jorma had questions. More than a few, in fact. Some had already been forming in his mind, while others had surfaced the moment he witnessed Luke’s interaction with Astfall.

But he could tell Luke wasn’t in the mood to answer them. After everything that had happened, he was probably exhausted and simply wanted to leave.

So Jorma nodded.

"I’ll relay the tale of your bravery throughout the lands and let humanity know what changed their fate."

Luke chuckled.

"Just tell them to understand what could happen if they aren’t careful with their actions."

His smile faded.

"Because if I hear that someone is being too mischievous, I might not wait for an army to arrive."

His eyes turned cold.

"I’ll deal with them myself."

Jorma felt a slight chill run through him at the sudden change in Luke’s expression. He instinctively straightened before giving a solemn nod.

"I understand."

Luke then turned toward the fort, and for a brief moment, he considered going back to check on Agatha.

She had certainly left an impression on him, one he knew he wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon. There was something about the woman that had lingered in his thoughts despite everything that had happened since.

But now...

Meeting her was practically impossible with Astaroth still there. He had no desire to have a chat with the Dragon King now and of course, he surely couldn’t ask Astaroth to lend Luke his wife for some time

And there was another problem.

[Dungeon Duration: 7 hours 59 minutes 48 seconds]

His time was almost up.

He needed to return to his family before they started worrying about him.

’Truthfully, even though it’s only been eight hours, I feel like I’ve spent considerably longer in this dungeon.’

It had been the longest he had ever stayed inside a dungeon, and he had gained far more than he had expected. He had learned things, earned things, and forged a connection that could prove invaluable in the journey ahead.

Whatever came next, this dungeon had certainly given him more than enough to take with him.

"Alright then. See ya."

Luke raised two fingers in a casual salute.

The next instant, his figure vanished.

Jorma could only stare at the empty space and then he shook his head.

He came like a storm and silenced everything in his wake.

The war which seemed almost impossible to prevent was stopped by a single person. And a human, no less.

Jorma knew that as long as this world and the people existed, Luke’s name would be remembered through generations.

’I wonder what a champion like him would do to celebrate his victory?’

Jorma faintly smiled as he stared at the sky.

....

"Luke?!"

The moment Luke reappeared in his world, he heard a voice from his left.

Turning he realized all three women, Laila, Monica and Ginna were standing there, clearly worried.

"Where did you go? And why are your clothes like this? Did you get involved in another battle?"

They surrounded him and started asking questions.

Luke, in response, just smiled and pulled them in a hug.

"Eh?"

"There is something definitely wrong."

Despite their questions Luke hugged them and finally allowed himself some moments of peace..